An excellent article discussing the power and flexibility of the Cartels and the inability of the Mexican Government to deal with the effectively was written by Joseph Trevithick at the War Zone, here:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/30494/cartel-narco-tanks-heavy-weapons-on-full-display-during-battle-over-el-chapos-son

This threat is real and it is imminent. The Cartels are not simply organized crime syndicates peddling illicit wares and engaging in vice- they are much more accurately described as Narco Terrorist Organizations capable of full scale terrorist attacks, as well as paramilitary insurgency and direct attacks against soft and hard targets within the United States. For a look at what the Narco Terrorist Organizations are capable of, have a look at what they did in Culiacan, the Capital of Mexico's Sinaloa state.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmMqGL6Jmfo

Lt Col MacGregor makes the case that no action against these Cartels is possible until we seal the border and provide REAL AND MEANINGFUL security on the border. That doesnt mean re inforcing the Border Patrol, or even supplimenting them with noncombatant military forces. It doesn't mean simply building a wall and calling it good. Those things help, but they are not in themselves the answer. LtCol MacGregor makes the point that you need combat troops deployed with Rules of Engagement that permit combat actions against the Paramilitary forces of the Cartels, and in sufficient numbers to hold ground and conduct real security operations. Security operations mean patrolling, raids, building outposts and listening posts. It means having enough forces deployed in the field to not only deter, but to overmatch and defeat the kind of forces you saw in the video i shared of the Sinaloa Cartel acting in Culiacan. Imagine that same scenario playing out in downtown Phoeniz AZ, or Tuscon, or MacAllen TX. You must have enough forces and of sufficient combat power to overmatch those Paramilitaries of the Narco Terror Orgs.

Its important to understand that the Cartels use the philosophy of getting people to either look the other way, or help them by offering them 'the gold or the lead' meaning take the bribe or take a bullet. This is serious problem on both sides of the border, and a military force would need to work in this environment.

LtCol MacGregor makes the case you would need 40-50 thousand combat troops secure the border. I think that number is high. The Corp of Engineers is building the wall at a phenomenal pace, and the funding was already secured. The wall WILL be built by 2020. That physical barrier will make the job the Cartels and their paramilitary forces much harder. Access will be restricted to a much smaller number of points to cross the border, and some of them are tunnels. This would cut down on the number of troops required. The other factor at play here is the size of the US Military, its current obligations, and the ability to deploy these troops at any length of time. Currently I do not believe we have the ability to field what amounts to three US Army Mechanized Infantry divisions.

The fact is, the US Army isnt the same Leviathon it was in 1991- it is much smaller. At the time of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the US Army was 21 full strength, fully staffed and equipped Divisions, some Infantry, some Mechanized Infantry, and some Armored divisions, as well as Armored Cavalry Regiments which were overstaffed with infantry, armor and mechanized equipment making them essentially 'short' divisions that were high on mobility and firepower. This army was meant to meet the Soviet Army in the Fulda Gap in Germany in the mother of all conventional battles. Those days are gone, and the US Army is a fraction of what it was in '91. The idea of deploying 3 of the 10 US Army divisions to the border indefinitely is simply not feasible.

A more realistic plan follows on Lt Col MacGregor's ideas, but in a scaled down way. The Lt Col is right: of paramount importance is completion of the Wall. PHYSICAL ACCESS MUST BE CUT OFF. The Wall accomplishes this. It turns open, unmonitored, unpatrolled land into land that is 'access denied'. It takes much of the border out of play for the Cartels. This means instead of having to Garrison troops in these areas, patrolling and observation is suffient to secure these areas. And you dont really even need people to be there to do this.

Everyone knows what Area 51 is. Everyone knows Area 51 is famous for denying entry to anyone from the sightseers to the determined spies looking to steal American Aerospace secrets. A HUGE Key to accomplishing this security is remote sensors. Surrounding Area 51 are thermal/infrared sensors that can detect and identify humans, sensors that can smell the amonia from perpiration in people and identify them seperately from animals, as well as night vision and optical cameras for monitoring large areas of land. The wall, coupled with these remote sensors can secure vast amounts of area through access denial and persistent real time surveillance and observation. These sensors can be used to alert forces when a response is needed.

But what else can we deploy? What does a realistic presence on the US Border behind the wall look like? For starters, its an organic Infantry force made up of combat soldiers and their supporting units. Two units in particular are extremely well suited to this mission: the US Army 10th Mountain Division who excel at hilly rough terrain and as Light Infantry formations, they lack heavy armor like Abrams Main Battle Tanks. They are easily deployed via trucks, HMMWV's, Blackhawk and Chinook Helicopters and these Light Infantry Divisions have these Aviation and mobility assets organic to their formations. They bring their own support. These units are tailor made for patrolling, fighting and winning in places like the border, and in rapid response to areas of crisis. Another unit in this category is the 25th Light Infantry Division. These units number near 12,000 men, and rotating a brigade each with Aviation and motor pool assets would be an enormous boost to border security combined with a completed wall. Brigade Strength would be several thousand combat troops and their support elements. This is a significant security force in its own right.

These units would need Rules of Engagement sufficient to defend themselves and to conduct offensive operations against Cartels along the border as well. Another force that can be added to the Light Infantry Divisions' infantry brigades, the US Army could also deploy Mechanized Infantry units. These differ quite a bit from Light Infantry. Mechanized Infantry are meant to travel with Armored forces and fight as a combined arms team, and bring Armored Fighting Vehicles like the Bradley with its armor, ability to carry an entire squad of infantry, and its 25mm light cannon and anti armor guided missiles. A brigade of Mechanized Infantry from the 1st and 3rd Infantry Divisions would not deplete or tie up the entire Division but would provide massive firepower more than capable of dealing with the heavy weaponry of the Cartels. In addition to the mechanized/armor equipment they would provide, they also bring to the fight more Aviation assets in the form of Rotary wing assets like Blackhawks and Apache attack helicopters.

These units could further be supplimented by other force multipliers. Every infantry unit has organic to it Sniper teams which are directly assigned to and report to the Battalion S-2 (intelligence section). They are tailor made for persistent surveillance operations in a covert manner, and intelligence gathering operations as well as interdiction operations.

These forces sound great but this is a large force spread over vast areas, responding to multiple points monitored by a massive field of widely diverse sensors. This means you need a higher headquarters unit stationed somewhere to truly take command and coordinate these operations and units effectively. A Headquarters unit from one of the Mechanized Infantry divisions like the 1st Infantry or 3rd Infantry would be needed. Placement is KEY here.

Arizona and Texas are the front line in the border war, and they provide the answers to this. A unified command under a headquarters unit at Fort Huachuca Arizona would be Ideal. It is home to one of the largets NSA listening posts in the world, and is the home of US Army Intelligence command. It is the ideal location to coordinate US Army, Border Patrol, DEA, FBI, NSA, and CIA efforts to protect the border, like one giant fusion center providing highly advanced C4I capability to the force.

Secondary Command posts in places like Fort Hood, Texas would also be highly advantageous. There are other sites that would also need to be utilized.

To sum up, many have called for actions against the Cartels in the wake of the murder of 9 unarmed American women and children. Several of them, myself included, have called for using JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command), better known as USSOCOM, to actively target and destroy the Narco Terror organizations. I do not back away from this, and i believe this is the ultimate answer. It is not without precedent. In his book 'Killing Pablo', Mark Bowden lays out in great detail how the shadowy Intelligence Support Activity and a fusion unit of the US Intelligence Community codenamed 'Centra Spike' actively tracked and ultimately killed Pablo Escobar, the first violent Narco Terrorist whom the Mexican Cartels model their operations on.

https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Pablo-Worlds-Greatest-Outlaw/dp/0802123783?SubnoscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=0802123783

Something similar could be done with respect to the Cartels in mexico. The operations against Bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi, and Al-Baghdadi bear this out. Ultimately i believe this is the answer to the problem. Mexico is a failed state, too corrupt, too overrun to effectively deal with the Cartels. US Intervention will be necessary in the future, as the Narco Terror organizations present a Clear and Present Danger to the National Security of the United States.

But Lt Colonel MacGregor is right: we need to get serious about truly securing our border before any Covert or Overt actions to dismantle the Cartels can be attempted.

Thanks for taking time to read my thoughts on Border Security and Counter Narcotics operations. For further information on the Battle of 73 Eastings, please look here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJNk7DcFIkk

And yes, i wrote that while enjoying an ice-cold *mexican* Coca Cola.

Thread 👇

https://mobile.twitter.com/drawandstrike/status/1192559740339073024

👀👇i have to say i find myself in total agreement with Stu. One additional note: Cuba is close. They can go there and never come back, too

https://twitter.com/STUinSD/status/1192554032201707522